Mad Maxwell
by zerofan13
Summary: Maxwell finds Sandy's house burnt down, but doesn't find Sandy anywhere. After meeting with a hamster, he is given a weapon. A weapon that strangely makes him desperate to find the one who possibly killed Sandy.
1. Chapter 1 Where's Sandy?

**Note: **This is an edited version of the unfinished rip-off story Demonic Maxwell (it was a rip-off of the story Demonic Yoshi, which I never read), but since not much people enjoyed it, I decided to make another version of it. Don't expect the same things to be there, however. I've made a few twists and erased all blood-and-gore scenes to give this story less of a horror mood. Hopefully my edit will be a success.

Oh yeah, since school has started (and it tends to give me a crapload of homework), updating this story might be a bit slow. If you like it, try to be patient for the other chapters to be posted.

**Disclaimer:** Besides some name changes and plot twists edited from "Demonic Maxwell" AND a title change ("Mad Maxwell"), I own absolutely nothing in this fanfic.

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CHAPTER 1 

"Uh-oh... guys I think you better check this out."

In the Ham-Ham clubhouse, Boss just called everyone to the new hamster television Panda built for the clubhouse. Even Snoozer, who was mostly asleep, turned around silently and listened to what was going on. On the television was the hamster-exclusive HNN (Hamster News Network) channel and something caught the attention of Boss. On the screen was a blond hamster with an orange HNN cap and a microphone.

"Hello. I'm reporter Ace Wilson, here reporting breaking news from HNN. A hamster, named Sky, is currently being searched for by police officals after being lost by his owner. According to the owner, Andreas Dilent, he took his hamster near this bridge behind me. camera zooms in to show close-up of bridge and police surrounding it As Andreas sat down, he placed his hamster on the grass, assuming that his hamster would stay where he was. Apparently, things went wrong, for after 5 minutes, Andreas stood up and saw no sign of Sky. All he saw was a crack in the bridge, but didn't have any care. When getting to his house and telling his parents about, a citizen Ham, Lacey, overheard the owner's problem and immeditately informed HNN about this. We then contacted the local Hamster Police Orgaization about the situation and now they're here interviewing Lacey about what he heard and investigating the crack on the bridge, which is said to lead to the **inside **of the bridge. Police think the inside leads to the answer of this new case. More on this story coming up."

Boss then used the remote to turn off the TV. He turned around to all the worried hamsters to say something about the report.

"Ham-Hams, yeah that bridge is a bit far from here, but I agree with the report: do not go near it! That freak could still be near that area and I don't want any of us becoming the next victims!"

"Boss, don't say that!" Pashmina said, trying to calm down Penelope, who was scared by Boss's words and started to cry.

"We've only on that bridge like, what, twice?" Stan calmly said. "That area's not that important anyway, so what's the worry?"

"What's the worry? I do NOT want any more hamsters being taken by whatever freak's out there! We can't let ourselves be fooled by him! We've now got to be in serious alert!"

"Boos, calm yourself!" Dexter immediately said, silencing Boss. "I appreciate the fact that you're attempting to protect us, really, I do, but the chances of us being ham-napped are actually quite low. Most of the time, we're together and if we do split apart, we're still near the clubhouse! That's what you always tell us to do, right?"

Instead of continuing tghe argument, Boss just let out a huge sigh and sat back on his chair. "I guess you're right. I really gotta stop overreacting. Oi..." While wiping his forehead, he noticed Maxwell pacing himself around the room, his head on the ground with a look that showed you he was thinking about something. As Boss saw him, the others turned around and noticed him too.

"Max?" Boss asked. "Anything wrong?"

Maxwell stopped where he was and turned to Boss. "Actually, yes." Maxwell said, trying to sound somewhat calm, but still letting out a bit of a stutter in his response. "Have any of you seen Sandy?"

"Hmm... good question." Boss answered, now a bit concerned about this new situation.

None of the other Ham-Hams have seen Sandy either. Not even Stan. They only shook their heads to Maxwell, making his head and ears droop.

"She **should** be here by now," Stan said with a baffled look. "I don't get it. Today is always a free day for her since her owner leaves the house. Why would she not be here with us? I'm gonna have to talk to her when I see her!"

"Hmm... should I go to her house and see what's going on?" Maxwell suggested, his mood finally uplifting after thinking of an idea.

"Yeah!" Stan yelled out. "Please! I'm actually starting to get worried about her!"

"What is this!" Howdy blurted out with his trademark accent. Suddenly, everyone looked at Howdy with annoyed looks. "Stan, the macho-ham, is gonna **cry **'bout all this! Come on, Stan, if yer gonna feel so sad, you gotta cheer up! How's about this ol' quotey: 'When in doubt, pinky out'!" Howdy then, like he said, put his pinky out for everyone to see clearly. "Now imagine the pinky is Sandy! Looky there, she's now right next to ya, he he hee!"

The Ham-Hams were now both confused and severely annoyed by Howdy and his constant attempt to make a joke. For them, the jokes make no sense and are just complete garbage.

"Honestly, Howdy, you're why I can be ashamed to step into this clubhouse." Dexter said in a cocky. This angered Howdy.

"HUH! Say that again! SAY! THAT! AGAIN! I dare ya! I double-dog dare ya! Say that one more time!"

"Oh, forgive me, Howdy." Dexter simply said. "Of course, I know my quotes, too: "When in doubt of luck, pinky out... AND PLUCK!"

Dexter suddenly brought his pinky to the air and started to flick it onto Howdy's face.

"AGH! Stop that, it hurts!" Howdy yelled out. "Get away!" Howdy started to run as Dexter started to chase him, with them yelling at each other more threats. The rest of the hamsters just stared with rolling eyes. They were also annoyed by the rivalry between Dexter and Howdy. They wish more peace could go on between them, but what's the use of dreaming about it when there are no signs of their rivalry stopping?

"Well, guys, I'll be goin' now." Maxwell said to the hamsters, now ignoring Howdy and Dexter.

"All right, take care, Maxwell!" Boss said.

"You get my sister quickly, you hear?" Stan yelled out, his paws over his mouth, like Maxwell was far away.

Maxwell waved a goodbye to his Ham-Ham friends and strolled out of the clubhouse. His mind was now set on Sandy. He was still confused on the fact that she didn't come to the Ham-Ham Clubhouse. She was always here on Wednesdays since she gets more free time with her owner, Hillary, staying after school for athletic rehearsals.

" _Sandy__..."_

Sandy was the only one who truly made Maxwell happy. The way she smiled, the way she talked, the way she could gracefully twirl... everything about her amazed Maxwell. He was in love with her and always dreamed of the day they became a couple. This thought quickened Maxwell's pace as he headed to Sandy's house.

It was a gorgeous afternoon setting made by nature. The sun was still shining brightly, the grass flowed gently with the soft wind, and birds filled the air with music that added the finishing touch to the masterpiece that surrounded Maxwell. He thought if this as a sign that today would be the day that he would be brave enough to tell Sandy about his feelings for her. He soon joyfully ran across the park, feeling like something exciting was going to happen. He couldn't wait to get to Sandy's house to talk to her. He then forgot about bringing her to the clubhouse. He just wanted to be with her. Just him and her.

But soon, he immediately stopped. The happy and lively atmosphere inside Maxwell was broken by a strange scent. Maxwell started hiff-hiffing to find out what it was and where the source was.

"Smoke..." Maxwell said to himself, wondering why there would be smoke on a day like this. "But this isn't barbecue smoke... that's the kind from a... a fire!"

Soon Maxwell's feelings changed to a mood of concern and he started to follow the scent, which was strangely leading directly to Sandy's house. He started to run, his pace speeding up as fast as his heart rate. He made a turn and saw what caused the smoke. His fast heart rate just then seemed to stop in an instant.

Where Sandy's house was supposed to be was only a huge pile of ash with a line of smoke rising from the pile. Furniture was seen on complete disordered sides, all flipped, destroyed, and burnt to a crisp. No part of the house was standing, not even the wood that the flames didn't catch completely. This horrific sight possessed Maxwell and caused him to just go down to his knees on the ground.

"AAUUUUGGGHHH!"

His lungs carried out a huge scream that could be faintly heard throughout the entire town. He couldn't believe that it was Sandy's house burned to mere crumbles. Immediate concern soon came to him. What was he doing on the ground just staring at a burning house? What about Sandy? Did she maybe survive or did she...

Maxwell ran to the house and then around it, trying to find some clues about the whereabouts of Sandy. After desperate searching, all he found was a blue book partially burned and the pages open, like someone was reading it. He looked at it and realized that there was writing. It was Sandy's handwriting. Maxwell hastily picked up the book and read the last page with writing thoroughly:

"_April 27_

_Dear Diary,_

_Ugh. This day already has been a drag, which is why I'm already writing to you at __noon__. Hillary discovered that I can get out of my cage easily, so she put a lock on the cage door, so now there's no way I can go to the clubhouse! What am I supposed to do for the next 5 hours!_

_I won't even be able to meet Maxwell...great, now I feel like I deserve all this boredom since I can't ever tell him my secret. Why must secrets like these be so embarrassing to say?_

_You know what, Diary? Today's the day. I've been a wimp for too long. I promise you today that I'm gonna tell Maxy that I lo..."_

The rest was a scribbled line and burn marks. Maxwell was now crying more than ever. He now knew that Sandy really did love him, but from what it looks like from the book, she's dead. Gone from Maxwell forever.

"Why you, Sandy? Why?" Maxwell managed to whimper out of himself. It seemed like his very purpose of life was now gone. He didn't know what to do now. His love was gone and there seemed to be a dead end in his future. He started to hyperventilate. His mind was going chaotic, a message in there saying, "Why? Why?" Everything became blurred and distorted. Time was going crazy, spinning at a speed none could record. The ground melted and started to take Maxwell with it. Everything was about to go into complete darkness when suddenly...

...Maxwell got out of his crazed state when in realism he saw something. All he saw was a black silhouette that resembled a hamster and it was moving away from the burned house quickly. Soon Maxwell was now filled with anger.

Maybe that hamster burned down the house! It was he who decided to kill Sandy! With thoughts of fury roaring through his head, Maxwell then abruptly ran to the running silhouette, hoping that it would lead him to the whereabouts of Sandy... if she isn't really dead.

No...The thought of death couldn't cross Maxwell's mind. He only wanted to think that she was ham-napped and that there was a way to save her. He wanted her back, even if it meant _his_ death.

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So what do yuo think so far? Awesome? Good? Needs improvement? If you've read it, please review. I can use your reviews to help me out on the continuing chapters to make the story better! 

Course, I hope I can get the next chapter up in a reasonable time...


	2. Chapter 2 Mad Maxwell

Disclaimer: Yes, once again, I must say that I do NOT own any Ham-Hams in this story... well, except Sky. He's mine.

CHAPTER 2 - Mad Maxwell

Maxwell furiously ran to the figure he just saw. Maxwell saw it running to another street, making the figure unseen due to the buildings and cars.

"You're not getting away from me." Max grumbled to himself as he was getting closer to the turn the figure made. As he got to the turn...

"AUGH!" A speeding car went right over Maxwell. He immediately stopped and just stared bug-eyed as the car went right over him. Maxwell then ran to the sidewalk, where no humans were seen. Maxwell continued running and caught the figure in sight, realizing that he had to catch up as it was already going right, to another street. Maxwell forced his legs to run as fast as they could. He felt like he was on a roller coaster, a kind of ride he hated going on, but this time, it was like he was in control. Maxwell actually started to get closer to the figure as he finally made the turn to the other street. He then saw that the figure was heading for the park... right where the bridge investigations were going on.

Maxwell's prediction was right. The figure was heading straight for the bridge. Strangely, as Maxwell got closer, he saw that no police or news reporters were there. They probably found nothing in the bridge and wanted to search for Sky in other areas. Maxwell crossed a road, and got onto a cement pathway that was leading to the bridge. He was finally getting on the figure's tail when he suddenly tripped on the grass as he turned to the side of the bridge, where the crack was. Maxwell got scared and instantly looked up. He saw the figure run right into the crack. While getting up, he started to pant and wipe the sweat off his head. He couldn't believe how fast he was going and he now wanted to rest, but he couldn't. He needed to know what that figure was doing near Sandy's burnt house. He walked along the grass and soon entered the crack of the bridge.

The whole area was like a cave. It was like this place was meant to exist. The only given light to the cave was the sunlight from outside, so the father part of the cave was darker. Maxwell got a chill up his spine. He wasn't used to going to dark places like these. A strange, foreign odor also filled the air, making Maxwell's nose twitch at the scent.

Suddenly, a groan echoed through the cave.

"Agh... ugh..."

Maxwell's ears came up as he heard this. He could tell it was from a hamster, but wasn't sure what it meant.

"Who's there?" Maxwell called.

The groans stopped, but showed a bit in the response. "Who... who are you?"

"Don't worry, I can help you." Maxwell walked a bit faster, but still cautiously in case anything uncomfortable occurs. As he got closer, the groans got louder and sounded like the hamster was in pain. Eventually, Maxwell caught sight of a dark-blue hamster... well at least he looked dark blue due to the lack of light. The hamster was lying down, holding his legs like they were broken and he couldn't get up. Maxwell then realized that the hamster looked familiar.

"Wait a sec... is your name Sky?" Maxwell questioned the hamster.

"... Yeah." Sky replied in a suspicious tone. "How do you know my name? Do I know you or something?"

"Well I wouldn't have if it weren't for you being on the news. Right now, there are groups looking for you."

"I was on the news?" Sky said with a jolt in his voice. "Huh... finally, I got that popularity I kind of dreamed. 'Course... I don't want it to be like this."

"Don't worry, I can get you home. But since I've finally met you, I need to know, what happened to you?"

Sky sighed deeply before giving the answer. "I don't know who the heck did it, but right when I resting with my bud Andreas, some maniac hamster grabbed me out of nowhere and brought me here. Like the speed of light, as he grabbed me, he put this tape over my mouth so not even _he _or anyone could hear me scream for help. He brought me into this cave - I have no idea how it came to exist - and beat the crap out of me, which brought me into unconsciousness for a while. As soon as I woke up, I found myself here and realized I was in terrible pain. And I am right now! I don't even wanna move my legs 'cause I'm not sure if they'll snap or something!"

"A... a maniac hamster?" Maxwell asked with a shiver, wondering if the figure he saw was the same that attacked Sky.

"Oh, heck yeah he was!" Sky answered, moving his arm a bit, showing that he would've put his hand in the air if it weren't for the pain. "A hamster coated in complete black. Not sure what it was, though... maybe a coat, cloak, blanket... but it sure disguised 'em well!"

Sky then noticed Maxwell's depressed face looking at the ground. "Is something wrong?"

Maxwell sighed and started to form tears in his eyes. "That same hamster... he's the same that... burned down Sandy's house."

"Sandy? Who's Sandy?" Sky asked.

"Sh-she's my love. She's the girl-ham I've loved for...for a long time. I thought one day we could... could finally become one... but it doesn't look possible now." Maxwell was now on the verge of sobbing. He couldn't stand the thought of Sandy dead. He just didn't wanna think about it. He now regretted telling Sky this; it made him feel like he had to accept the death of... no. He couldn't. Why must she be gone now?

"Oh man..." Sky said with deep sorrow. "I'm sorry to hear that... did she... really...?"

Maxwell was close into becoming furious at Sky for asking that question, but he calmed himself down and realized why there was still hope left. "Actually... I'm not sure if she really is... dead. I saw her house, completely burned to ashes, but I didn't see her body anywhere. All I found was...was..." Maxwell was sniffling and whimpering and just couldn't say the last words.

"Hey Max, if this is too much for you, don't think about it too hard. I'm not much of a psychologist and I know I might not even be a good one, but this is just my advice."

Yeah..." Maxwell sighed. He was trying to calm himself down, but he couldn't. He felt trapped in his own mind, like there was no way out. There was nothing he could do and nothing will ever be changed. All hope was a mere dream and will never come.

Sky then grunted furious. "Ugh, what's with society these days! Kidnapping, destroying, murdering... what kind of monsters would even think of doing such..."

Sky suddenly stopped, like he had an idea in his head. And he did. He spotted a white, string-like figure a bit father from them. He then remembered what it was.

"Hey, Max. Max?" Sky called out, but didn't receive a response. He saw Maxwell in the same spot, except he was just staring at the ground with empty eyes.

"Hey, Max, wake up!" Sky yelled to him, catching Max's attention.

"What? What is it!" Max said startled.

"You see that thing over there?" Sky pointed to the figure by cocking his head to the direction. Maxwell saw it and nodded.

"That's our way outta this mess. It seems the freak hamster left it here. Not sure why, though. Anyway, that thing is a giant weapon. It has four mechanical arms that you can control with your brain by putting the "stem" part on your back. No needles or anything will pierce through you and stick to your brain stem or anything. It simply catches the messages your brain sends to the arms with this... blegh, I'm not sure how it does it, but yeah, it catches the messages and that allows the arms to move. So you can mentally move these arms!

"Arms?" Maxwell said in confusion? "What kind of arms?"

"I actually forgot..." Sky said in regret. "It's been a while since I've seen these kind of things, but I do remember the basics. Max, what I need you to do is put it on your back."

"Huh?" Max said, completely startled by this. "Why me! Why should I use such a thing! You're the one who needs real assistance!"

"Hey, dude, that thing did something to Sandy and I think you should give him some revenge. Trust me, he sees you with that and he'll be scared to death! He should tell you where Sandy is and never mess with both of y'all again! How's that for fairness?"

Max thought deeply about this. Never has he thought about threatening someone with a weapon; never like this. Of course... he actually liked the idea. He gave himself a courageous smile, like suddenly, hope lit up his body.

"You're right. I'll show that guy who deserves a burn!" Max yelled out, boldly. A bit too boldly, he later thought to himself, causing himself to blush a bit.

"Ha ha, that's the spiri... OW!" Sky was cheering Max on until he lifted his arm too high and gave himself an ache. "Yeah, give him the ol' 1-2 for me, Max!"

Maxwell suddenly felt no fear. He simply walked right to the object, not excepting what he was about to see.

He saw a hamster-sized set of 4 metal arms attached to a long stem that seemed flexible enough to go on a hamster's back. They were in a proper, quadrupled manner, so there was a top-right, top-left, bottom-left, and bottom-right arm. Maxwell then felt a little bit of fear after looking at the object, but shook that thought away and just tried to put on the set of arms. He thought simply putting his back on it would work, so he lied down on the thing since it was set that way and just let the stem attach itself to Maxwell's back. Maxwell expected to feel something that allowed him to move the arms, but he felt something different. Like some things were poking his back. Suddenly, his back felt the greatest pain it ever felt.

20 needles instantly went through his back and Maxwell felt paralyzed. He couldn't even scream at the pain. All he did was stay there frozen with his mouth open wide and his eyes flickering, like he was having a seizure. He soon lost his sense of feeling, then his sense of sight and sound. Soon, he wasn't in reality. Everything just went blank.

..."ungh... wh...wha...what happened? Where am I? Where'd I go?"

Maxwell woke up in a daze. He felt dizzy and opened his eyes in a slow manner. He found himself right where he was earlier, before he felt like he died. He didn't feel pain on his back, but he felt something heavy on it. He also felt like he had 6 arms, like he had his normal 2, but 4 more on his back. He wondered why he couldn't move them, though. He then only thought of moving them... and there he saw 4 mechanical snake-like arms staring at him.

"AHH!"

Maxwell was completely startled by this. After getting out of shock, he tried to do what he did again: think of moving the arms. He moved his upper-right arm up, then down. He did the same with each of his arms, and then tried moving them simultaneously. He easily did it without any coordination problems. The arms moved back to Maxwell's face. Maxwell tried something... and it happened. The arms opened their "hands" for Maxwell. Each of them had 3 metal "fingers" open. They were dull, but looked strong, like they could grab hold of anything.

"Feeling good, Maxwell?" Sky said in this strangely low voice.

Maxwell looked to the left and saw Sky, standing up perfectly, like he wasn't in pain at all. And to answer his question, he didn't know exactly how he felt. He was still in a bit of a daze and couldn't think of how to respond.

Soon he couldn't respond because he eyes and mind came locked onto Sky. He felt hypnotized and like he was forced to listen to him.

"Maxwell..." Sky said in his same low voice. "I just found out something... Sandy was killed. However, this is good news! The freak hamster is actually a demon sent by the Devil Ham after the demon requested bringing Sandy to Hamster Hell. This demon also loved Sandy. He saw her with you and couldn't stand it anymore, so he decided to take Sandy by force. Now, Maxwell, you must find this guy and kill him. Find a hamster you think could've killed Sandy. You'll bring him back to Hamster Hell and that will bring Sandy's body and soul back."

Maxwell snapped out of the gazed world he was in. Suddenly, he smiled. Not the happy, caring smile Maxwell always gives. This one was like he was to do something. Something bad. He chuckled to himself. He brought his 4 arms up to face the entrance of the cave and cracked his neck.

"That little freak is going down."

Each of his mechanical arms were touching the ground and pushing him forward, like it was his way of walking. They were pushing the ground furiously, cracking the ground on every step they made. He soon exited the cave.

"Good luck, Maxwell." Sky said to himself. He laughed and turned back to go deeper into the cave.


	3. Chapter 3 First Attack

Author's Note: Can someone say... "Spider-Man" rip-off!

Yeah, those 4 mechanical arms were taken from Dr. Octopus, one of my personal favorite superhero villains. I just had to use them for this story. I thought they'd work PERFECTLY for it! So yeah, I'm just saying that there's another thing in this story that I don't own.

Disclaimer: Just mentioned it above, but yeah, I don't exactly own the mechanical arms (I edited their features a tad, though)or any of the hamsters you meet (except Sky.)

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CHAPTER 3 - First Attack

_CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!_

Maxwell's controlled arms were stomping on the ground loudly. Their strength was so great; the ground seemed to rumble with each step they made. Like he was the master, Maxwell simply had his arms folded and his face slightly lowered with a bizarre smirk he's never made before. His eyes opened wide when he finally saw his target: the tree where the underground led to the Ham-Ham Clubhouse.

When he was within a close radius of the tree, he stopped and slowly descended to the ground.

"Wait a sec..." Maxwell said to himself. "I can't let them see me like this. The murderer will notice my plan and attack quickly! I must get him by surprise... but how?"

Maxwell squinted his eyes and looked to the ground. He then wondered if something with his arms would work. He soon made his hands into fists as he grunted. The arms were starting to close their fingers. A whirring noise was made as they started to shorten and the hands got closer to Maxwell. When they reached his back, they turned to face down. The whirring stopped.

"That's it!" Maxwell yelled furiously. "They're still visible!" He sighed so angrily that his shoulders went up and down with his deep breathing. "I guess I'll just need something to hide them from view."

He looked around for something like a blanket or anything long that could cover up the arms on his back. Something like a leaf or a cloak or...

"A blanket!" Maxwell yelled as he spotted a yellow blanket lying on the grass in front of a root of the tree. His upper-right mechanical arm came out, spread out its fingers, and extended itself to reach the blanket. The arm grabbed the blanket and shortened so Maxwell could grab it with his own hands. The blanket was hamster-sized, but was long enough to cover the arms.

"This'll do just fine." he said to himself as the mechanical arm went back into its original place and he placed the blanket over the arms. Maxwell didn't want to tie the blanket onto his neck, making it look like a cape, which made him look corny and moronic to his disgust, so he simply held it on while walking toward the hole that led to the clubhouse.

After a minute of walking of walking, Maxwell reached the door and opened it. To his surprise, everyone jumped and ran toward him.

"MAXWELL!" The Ham-Hams yelled out.

"Dude, where were you!" Stan said in anger. "We were worried sick! We thought you died or somethin'!"

"And what's with the blanket?" Boss asked with his head cocking to the right.

"I'm sorry, guys. And the blanket... well I... I was just cold."

"That's not important right now!" Stan furiously yelled to Maxwell and Boss.

"Hey, Stan, stop that! Yer killin' our ears!" Howdy said with his hands cupped over his ears. "Meh, I'm gonna go in another room so you won't assault my ears anymore!"

"Hey, don't you think you're overreacting, Howdy?" Dexter asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Me! Tell that to Stan, he's the one yapping away!"

"Uh-huh..." Dexter said with a sweat drop. Boss was now annoyed.

"Howdy, you're assaulting MY ears now! Now get in my room and shut up!"

"FINE!" Howdy yelled and ending the shouting by entering the other room and slamming the door shut.

"I agree with Howdy, I think you should calm down, too." Hamtaro suggested.

"CALM DOWN!" Stan screamed with his arms waving up and down. "Do YOU see Sandy with Maxwell? Nuh-uh, you don't! Now where's Sandy, Maxwell!" Stan pointed a finger at Maxwell, demanding a response.

"S-Sandy... she..." Maxwell stuttered. His eyes looked at the ground and were turning wet. Everyone looked concerned about this.

"Max?" Stan said absolutely worried. He even started to shake a bit. "N-nothing bad happened to her... right?"

"Stan..." Maxwell sighed. "I... I regret to tell you and everyone else this... but her house... it got burnt to the ground."

Maxwell couldn't believe he let it out. He was trying to think of a lie, but at the same time, he knew not to lie about something like this and so it just came out.

Everyone was devastated. Stan went pale, Boss's eyes went wide, Cappy just hid inside his pot, the girls were on the verge of crying, and the rest had this extremely sad face.

"What are you saying...?" Hamtaro said, trying his best not to cry. He sniffled. "Is she...?"

"I... I didn't see her... in the ashes." Maxwell answered. Stan didn't move or say anything. He was practically frozen from any movement.

"I'm sorry, Stan." Maxwell said. He would've placed a hand on Stan's shoulder, but not only was he unsure if Stan would attempt to attack him or something, but he didn't want to let go of the blanket that hid his mechanical arms. If the blanket dropped... ooh, he didn't want to think about it.

"How, Maxwell?" Boss suddenly asked. "How did her house just burn and fall to the ground?"

"The freak hamster." Maxwell replied, now not in sadness, but in anger. "You know, the one that kidnapped that other hamster? It was his fault. He tried to kill Sandy!"

"WHAT!" Boss replied in shock and irritation. "I can't believe this! That's it! If I ever find that guy... oh hoo hoo hoo, he's gonna get it!" Boss then started to grip his shovel more tightly, like he was ready to attack. He breathed very deeply, his lungs almost expanding to their limit.

Stan was now turning red, like life came back to him. He started to shake and his face was creating this face like he was seriously ticked off. Suddenly, his mouth let out an enormous scream and he started to violently pound on the walls.

"I can't take this!" Stan roared out to the Ham-Hams. "He's gonna die, you hear me, guys? He's gonna die!" Tears and sweat rolled down his fur as his whole body shook, like it was struck by lightning. His fists made the thunder as he again pounded on the walls as hard as he could, making cracks appear in areas. The girl hamsters were down bawling after seeing all this and just wanted it to end.

"Stan, stop this right now!" Boss ordered Stan, but it didn't affect him. "Grr... LISTEN TO ME!"

Boss yelled as loud as he could to Stan, which was great enough to create a creepy echo throughout the clubhouse. Suddenly, everything was silent. The crying, the yelling, the pounding... everything just went away. Stan then started to whimper and form more tears.

"Why Sandy?" Stan said with his back turned on the hamster. His voice was cracking and he kept sniffling. "What did she do to deserve this? She's innocent! INNOCENT!" He went down on his knees and started to sob with his hands cupped over his face.

Everyone else was silent. They felt sorry for Stan and wanted to comfort him, but didn't know what to do since they didn't want to anger him again. They were all devastated about this event and just sort of took a moment of silence, without even thinking about it.

Suddenly, Maxwell thought of something. It gave him both anger and excitement.

"_Wait a_ _sec... why exactly did Howdy go inside that room and why hasn't he come out? Is plotting something? Wait a... of course! It's him! Quiet Howdy, murdering an innocent girl-ham! The fool! He'll pay for his deeds!"_

"Howdy!" Maxwell angrily gasped out loud, causing the hamsters to look at him confused.

"I'm sorry, guys..." Maxwell quickly said. "But I just wanna, uhh... wanna check on Howdy. He's been in that room for quite some time and uhh, I'm just concerned, you know..."

Maxwell looked around the room for any signs of suspicion, but found none, so he proceeded to the room, quickly let go of the blanket with his right hand to open the door and then grabbed back his blanket, and entered the room. He closed the door by kicking it with his right foot.

Inside, he saw Howdy pacing around the room, mumbling to himself. Instantly, Howdy noticed Maxwell enter the room and remained mad.

"What do you want!" Howdy yelled to Maxwell. Maxwell gave Howdy an unusual look. He had a plain face, but his eyes showed something that Howdy couldn't explain.

"What do **I **want, you ask?" Maxwell calmly said to Howdy. "I want..." Here, Maxwell cracked his neck. "...Sandy!"

"Heke?" Howdy blurted out, confused by Maxwell's statement. "What 'cho on, Maxwell? I heard you clearly say that you couldn't find Sandy."

"Of course I can't, you fool," Maxwell angrily said to Howdy. "You have her. Now give her back or suffer!"

"Uhh... Maxwell?" Howdy said shivering, scared by Maxwell's words. "If this is a joke, uhh, it ain't that funny. So could ya stop, purty please?"

"A joke?" Maxwell said, letting go of the blanket. "You call all of this a _joke_!" Maxwell was now furious. Soon, the mechanical arms sprouted out of the stem on his back and extended out so Howdy could perfectly see them. One of the arms reached out for a table near Howdy and placed it in front of the door and jammed under the doorknob so no one could get in.

"What the... what are those!" Howdy fearfully wondered, pointing at the arms that were looking at him.

"Your death," Maxwell plainly said. Instantly, an arm pulled back a bit and then quickly extended forward to Howdy. Before Howdy could even make a move, the arm slammed into Howdy's face, violently knocking him to the ground. He groaned as he tried to get up and also checked his face for any blood. No blood was there, to Howdy's relief.

"What's wrong with you!" Howdy yelled to Maxwell. This only earned him another hit in the face with the same mechanical arm. He then was carried by all four arms and they shortened to bring Howdy to Maxwell.

"I'll give you one last chance, Howdy, and don't you dare play games with me." Maxwell said in this dark voice Howdy has never heard from Maxwell, which gave him the chills. "Give me back Sandy."

"Darn it, Max, I don't have her!" Howdy screamed, irritated by all this happening to him. "Now please, put me down!"

"Your loss," Maxwell said to Howdy. Maxwell's eyes then opened wide as his arms pulled Howdy back, and then furiously threw Howdy to the wall, creating a loud _SHUD_ that filled the air. Howdy then fell to the floor, not moving at all. The arms carried Maxwell to Howdy so he could examine him. After moving his body and seeing that it did not move, he grinned and chuckled to himself. Suddenly, he realized something.

"Sandy?" Maxwell called out as he looked around the room. He expected her body and soul to appear... but no one appeared.

Maxwell pounded on the ground and cursed loudly. He got even more irritated when he heard Boss and the other hamsters trying to open the door.

"What's goin' on in there!" Pashmina yelled out in this worried voice.

"Open this door right now!" Boss commanded!

"You better explain yourself, Maxwell and Howdy!" Stan grunted.

Maxwell quickly thought of a way to get out. He remembered Panda installing a secret emergency exit in the room he was in. Knowing where it was, 2 of Maxwell's mechanical arms shot straight to a corner of the room, grabbed the wall, and pulled out a chunk of the wall, revealing a tunnel that led to the outside of the tree. His arms carried Maxwell and quickly ran to the tunnel. Right when Maxwell disappeared from sight, Boss roared with all his might and smashed the door the down, destroying both it and the table jamming it.

The hamsters gasped as they saw the scene: Howdy down and not moving, and the emergency exit exposed with its entrance door dropped on the ground.

"What the...?" was all that came out of Boss.

"Howdy!" Pashmina cried out after seeing Howdy's body just lying on the ground. Dexter had a tad bit of jealousy seeing her run to him, but he ignored that feeling and focused in Howdy.

"How did this happen!" Panda exclaimed while shivering at the grimly sight.

"Do you think...?" Dexter started to say, shocked by his own theory. "...that the kidnapper attacked Howdy and got Maxwell?"

Those words startled Oxnard and made him whimper. "Ohh... why is this happening to us!" Oxnard sobbed and Bijou tried to calm him down for the hamsters' sakes.

"This is going too far!" Boss declared at this! "From now on until further notice, Ham-Hams, we are in an emergency situation! Panda, I need you to install the traps all over the appropriate of the clubhouse. This time, he's ours!"

"How long is that gonna take?" questioned Cappy, who finally came out of his pot and wanted get into the discussion.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Panda answered calmly. "The traps are a bit complex, yeah, but they're actually not that hard to put on. In fact, for some, I just need to press a button for them to come up and get ready for action! Trust me, we're gonna be fine."

Outside, Maxwell was far from the clubhouse so he couldn't be seen. He was walking in a circle, thinking to himself.

"_I don't get it. I got the killer. I got the guy who killed Sandy... but Sandy didn't come. She was supposed to come ... unless... hmm... unless I just got the wrong guy. That's gotta be the reason. Maybe Sky can tell me a bit more about the killer. I'm gonna find the freak and, ooh hoo hoo, he's gonna wish he never existed!"_

After finishing going through his mind, Maxwell's arms got up and carried him to the bridge.

* * *

Hey, readers, I just wanna thank you on the reviews. Really, they're definitely telling me to continue the sotry and I promise not to disappoint y'all! Course... I can't promise quick updates, unfortunately. Stupid school...

Also, I have a comment about one of the reviews. April... did you really cry? Like actually have some tears? Now I'm not making fun of you or anything, I swear, but crying... oh man, that's a big compliment to me. That really shows something. I'm sorry, I just wanted to mention this to you.


	4. Chapter 4 Second Attack

What's this! The story... updated! Blasphemy!

Yeah, sorry about the delay, guys. You have to understand, though, school is becoming torture right now. My English class ALONE is giving me a hard time with homework. I'm even surprised I got this thing done! Life's tough, ain't it?

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah, I own nothing except Sky, his owner, and the edited events. Let's just get to the fun part, shall we?

CHAPTER 4 - Second Attack

_CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!_

The thundering rumble of the clinking of Maxwell's arms again filled the air as they took him away from the clubhouse. Maxwell needed to learn more from Sky about the menace hamster. He didn't want to make another mistake on a situation like this. Everything had to be precise for him now. A false move could lead to deadly results.

Maxwell reached the cave inside the bridge and shortened his arms so he could walk with his feet.

"Sky?" Maxwell called out. "Are you still here? I need your help."

Sky came out of the darkness, walking perfectly fine without any pain, though that wasn't Maxwell's concern. "What's wrong?"

"I... I got one of the Ham-Hams... but though I did, Sandy never came back. Did I do something wrong or did I just get the wrong person?"

"You got the wrong guy, Max." Sky said, sounding a bit baneful. "But hey, it's just the first time and we all make mistakes. And I assume you _learn _from them, correct?"

"Yes..." Maxwell quietly said, wondering what Sky was trying to tell him.

"I sensed something, Maxwell. The hamster you killed... it was like Sandy was ABOUT to come back. I think he had to do something with the real murderer. The two both planned it out and the one you killed only knew all the secrets. He never committed the acts, though. What you must do is find the one closely related to him and get him."

Maxwell gasped. It was like Sky told him the answer. He knew exactly who to get now. "The no good ex-friend... I'll get him!" Maxwell, in a rage of ferocity, turned around and lifted his upper-left arm as it was about to the ground...

...but then the arm couldn't move. Something grabbed it and stopped it from moving. Maxwell turned his head around and saw Sky, holding onto the arm.

"At nighttime..." Sky slowly said to Maxwell. "...you strike."

Maxwell was confused for a second, but then caught his drift. "At nighttime..." Maxwell realized what he meant and then grinned at the idea.

Meanwhile, at the clubhouse...

"AHA! I got it!" Dexter yelled out in glee! He was analyzing the footprints and marks from the mechanical arms Maxwell made when using the secret exit to escape the clubhouse. After 30 minutes, Dexter finally came to a conclusion to his analysis of the marks. Everyone turned around at this statement and was anxious for an answer.

"What is it! Stan immediately asked. "You know the guy who did all this!"

"Come on, tell us!" Boss yelled at Dexter.

"Like I said, guys, I got the answer." Dexter calmly replied. "These footprints that lead from Howdy's body to the outside are of the same person and show that the perpetrator immediately escaped. These strange cross-shaped marks indicate that the perpetrator used a strong machine-like weapon to get Howdy and also escape. There are no footprints of another person, which obviously means that they belong..." His eyes now widened and he spoke with emphasis. "...TO MAXWELL!"

"WHAT!" Everyone replied to this shocking answer. They couldn't believe.

"Please don't tell me that you're saying Maxwell is the maniac hamster!" Panda spoke, frightened.

"I'm sorry, guys, but it's true." Dexter sighed. "Maxwell, all along, was the murderer."

"No... no!" Stan angrily yelled at Dexter. "I won't believe this! You're lying and this is absolutely NO time for stupid jokes!" Everyone else agreed and was outraged by Dexter's answer to this. Dexter's face was worried and he started to wave his arms around.

"Wait, wait, guys! Calm down!" Dexter yelled. "There might be a reasonable explanation for this. Yes, these are the footprints of Maxwell, I swear, but it doesn't mean he MEANT to do this! It's possible he was maybe FORCED by someone to do it! Maybe he was threatened to be killed by the real perpetrator if he didn't follow his orders! That way, the perpetrator could stay in hiding after kidnapping the other hamster!"

Everyone then calmed down a bit, but was still shocked by the thorough answer they received.

"What does this mean, then?" Boss asked. "If what you're saying is true, then could something like this happen again by Maxwell?"

"It's possible, unfortunately," Dexter said. "However, this time, we're gonna get him with our set-up traps, am I correct, Panda?"

"No need for worry, Dexter!" Panda said, outside of his scared mood and now feeling confident. "By night, the traps should be fully set and engaged to capture anyone that dares try to break in."

"Err... they won't _harm _the guy, right?" Dexter worriedly asked. "I mean, what if it's Maxwell who comes in? We should just keep him trapped and make him give us the scoop on all of this."

"Don't worry, Dex, they're all set on trapping the invader with ropes, a cage, a metal box, or anything like that, depending on where the invader tries to get in. Trust me, he's ours."

"That's great, Panda!" Boss praised.

"Yeah, especially since no more people will get hurt!" Hamtaro shouted. Everyone laughed at the comment. Finally, they were happy believing that all of this might end.

6 HOURS LATER

The full moon was shining brightly over the dark city. Everyone, hamster and human, were asleep. The only Ham-Hams sleeping in the clubhouse were Boss, Panda, Dexter, and obviously, Snoozer. The others went back to their homes to get some rest of their own.

_rustle... rustle... rustle..._

Soft rustling through grass could be heard through all the chirping of the crickets and soft wind. It was moving closer to the clubhouse. Soon, it ceased and only soft footprints were heard as they moved into the tree and closer to the Ham-Ham clubhouse. Later, every so gently, the front door of the clubhouse was opened and made not even a creaky sound as it slowly opened the way to the inside. A hamster and 4 mechanical arms on his back then entered the clubhouse. Maxwell had come.

Through no light was on, Maxwell could make out the shapes in the room, which were the table and chairs, other furniture, and 4 hamsters sleeping on the ground, snoring softly. He then squinted his eyes as he thought of something.

"_Hmm... I wonder if Panda really set up those alarm things he mentioned once," _He thought to himself. He brought up his right paw and exposed a spray of some sort. He gently and quickly pressed the spray and let out only a mist. He saw it slowly go forward... and that's when it revealed, for a split second, vertical red lines that guarded the way that were a foot a couple of feet away from him. Maxwell was right. Panda had set up a system of signals that could detect the presence of any hamster coming in.

"_Darn..."_ Maxwell grunted softly. _"Wait... but what if...?" _

One of his mechanical arms then slowly reached forward to where the lights. He bit his teeth as the arm got closer... and closer... but he noticed something: nothing happened. Not a single alarm went off. His arm went undetected by the system.

Maxwell grinned at this. He now knew how to get across. He brought his arm back to where he was and now brought all of us arms up above him and had them open their fingers to their longest extent. They now completely covered Maxwell. He slowly moved forward and didn't have a single problem getting through the system of signals. After walking a few feet, to where Maxwell figured the lines weren't, he brought his arms down and now searched for... that's when he spotted him.

"There you are..." Maxwell happily muttered to himself. He slowly walked toward him to where he was right under his nose. That's when Dexter woke up and looked up. Right he was about to gasp...

"Gotcha." Maxwell whispered. Suddenly, the arms came down like snakes and grabbed Dexter, making sure his mouth was shut and that he was in grab of them. Dexter then yelled out screams that could barely be heard and furiously squirmed around, trying to get out of Maxwell's mechanical arms. That's when Maxwell brought his left paw up and sprayed a mist at Dexter. Gradually, Dexter stopped squirming around and was then heard snoring softly, like he was a few seconds ago.

"_Now to get outta here." _Maxwell thought as he put one spray bottle in his mouth and another to his neck where he lowered his head so he could hang on to it. The mechanical arms brought Dexter to Maxwell's own arms and they began to rise and extend again so Maxwell could again not be detected from the system of signals and escape from the scene.

Maxwell brought Dexter outside and laid him down on the grass. His 4 mechanical arms then "looked" at him, like they were ready to attack.

"Good bye, friend." Maxwell softly said. He then laughed maniacally at Dexter.


End file.
